I'm Going To Fight For You, Emily Fields
by Rainymonday89
Summary: Paige finally realizes the sacrifice that she's going to have to make, but she might not be the only person fighting for Emily's affection...
1. Chapter 1

I'm back : ) This story took me a while to write, because I really love where the Emily/Paige storyline is going on the show right now. I'm not happy with the finished product, but I wanted to give you something. Regardless, if I wrote for PLL, this is how the story would continue. I'm thinking this is going to be a quick two part series with the 2nd part posted on Sunday night. Enjoy.

* * *

_But I think it has to be as friends…_

She couldn't believe that she had actually heard those words come from Emily's mouth.

_But I think it has to be as friends…_

She couldn't believe that she had actually said those words to Paige

_But I think it has to be as friends…_

Each girl replayed the phrase over again in her head until it became an ominous reminder of the events that transpired that afternoon.

Emily pulled her Toyota into the McCuller's driveway, unlocking the car doors as she did.

"I'm really sorry, Paige." Without hesitation, the heart-broken girl unbuckled her seatbelt and dashed from the car, not even bothering to say good-bye. Emily sighed and pulled out her phone

**Hey Aria, you free? I could use a friend…**

**-Em**

The response was almost immediate.

**Of course. Come on over.**

The brunette mustered a half smile at the reliability of her friends, but couldn't bring herself to actually feel anything other than destroyed. Any chance of a normal relationship had been shattered by Paige's insecurities, and it frustrated Emily that the universe wasn't allowing her to be happy. The playful banter, the karaoke, the kiss in the parking lot, the _romantic picnic_: it had all been so—perfect. And now—it was gone. After pulling up in front of Montgomery's house, Emily took a moment to compose herself. It was time to be honest with someone about Paige—and Maya—and she chose Aria to be that person. As an expert at secret relationships, Emily hoped that the girl would be both sympathetic and honest with her.

Her friend greeted her at the door with a fresh cup of hot coffee and a welcoming smile.

"Hey, Sweetie. Are you alright?" Emily relaxed at the instant comfort she felt in the other girl's presence.

"Yeah," she said, stepping into the house. "I just really need someone to talk to…"

"Alright, well, let's talk." Aria offered the taller girl another soft smile, and they made their way into the living room.

As Emily spilled more and more of her heart out to Aria, she felt a deep burden gently lift from her shoulders. It felt good. For once, she actually felt some semblance of peace. They had talked for over two hours straight and Aria positioned herself to make one final, summarizing point.

"So, Em, the question you have to ask yourself is, 'Is Paige McCullers worth it?' Because, for me, in my life, Ezra is worth it. Sure, I would love it if we could be out and open with our relationship, but right now, we can't. So, it's worth it to me to keep quiet, as long as we get to be together. I would never risk losing the opportunity to love him. Can you say the same about Paige?"

Emily stared at the dark rings forming on the inside of her mug. She had just finished her fourth cup of coffee and the caffeine was making her antsy.

"These past few days have been so unexpected," she whispered, slowly looking up to meet Aria's knowing gaze. "I don't know what's going to happen between us, but what I do know is that she makes me feel happy. She makes me feel a 'happy' that I've never felt before in my life. She is trying so hard to be different: to be better, and she's doing it all for me. I think I sort of owe it to her to have some patience."

"After all… Maya had to be patient with you…" Aria was careful not to offend the girl.

"Yeah, she did." A gentle silence washed over the room as Aria anxiously waited for Emily to make her decision.

"So, Em, is she worth it?"

"She is."

* * *

The morning had been an emotionally rough one for Emily Fields. Despite her positive outlook last night on the whole situation, she had woken up doubting all of her conclusions about Paige. The swimmer was now walking aimlessly through the halls of her high school all but dragging herself from class to class.

"So, how are you doing this morning?" Aria slid up next to her and asked with genuine concern.

"Well, everything still sucks, if that's what you're asking." She didn't mean to snap at the shorter girl. After all, Aria was the only person at this point that could help her figure out what the hell she was suppose to do. Emily instantly offered an apology.

"I'm sorry, Aria. I'm just frustrated. Paige isn't returning any of my calls, and I've spent all morning looking for her—"

"Em! You just need to stop freaking out about everything and remember what we talked about last night. Right?"

"Yeah, it's just—"

"No! Emily Fields, you listen to me right now." Aria pulled them to the side of the hallway and forced Emily to look her in the eye. "She's worth it, right?" Emily responded with a knowing sigh and spent an extended period of time staring at her shoes..

Looking up she responded, "Yes, definitely worth it."

"So, go get your girl back!" The taller girl grinned at the cheesy sentiment and thanked her friend. Watching Emily wander off to her next class, Aria noticed what could be construed as a slight skip in the other girl's step.

After parting ways with Emily, she felt a gentle tug on her left sleeve. The action startled her; yet, she wasn't at all surprised by the person standing in front of her.

"Hi, Paige." She greeted the girl as if she had been expecting this moment to come.

"Can I ask you about something?—well, someone?" Frustrated at her sudden lack of linguistic skills Paige hurried out, "Can I talk to you about Emily… please?"

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" Aria's nonchalance was unnerving to Paige, and it made her doubt the decision to breach the topic. Taking a deep breath, the redhead decided that it was now or never.

"Well, I don't know what she's told you, but we—"

"Yeah, I know." Aria smiled gently at the girl, hoping to calm her nerves even a little bit.

"Ok, that makes this a little bit easier then," Paige mumbled to herself. After a reassuring nod from the other girl she continued, "So, as you know, I royally screwed things up with her, and I know I was an idiot, and I know I was just being scared, but sometimes it's just so hard to match Emily's bravery, and I really like her, and I really want to keep seeing her, and I'm afraid if I don't do something I could lose her forever… and why are you laughing? Oh God, I must sound like such an idiot." Paige started to move backwards but found a steady grip on her wrist.

"Paige, I'm not laughing at you, I promise. It's just—you really should return her calls. I mean, I spent the entire evening listening to Emily ramble on in that same exact way."

"Really?" Paige seemed utterly shocked, and Aria couldn't suppress the giggle that returned to her mouth.

"I'm going to ask you the same thing that I asked her. Is she worth it?"

"Of course she's worth it," Paige blurted out with a shy grin on her face. Aria finally saw in the girl what Emily had seen all along.

"Then, there's your answer." She smiled and began to walk away.

Paige took a second to interpret the girl's words and shouted after her, "Are you always this enigmatic, Montgomery?"

"I don't know what that word means Paige, but what I do know is that if you find someone to love, you can't let them slip away."

Before Paige could rebut Aria's statement, the girl has vanished into a sea of overly-caffeinated high school students. _What the hell is she getting at? Of course, Emily is worth it. I would do anything for her. Oh..._

The realization had finally hit Paige square in the chest. The only time that she had been truly happy in the past month—or even the past year—had been with Emily Fields. She decided then and there that no one was going to take that happiness away from her, especially herself. Pushing off of the locker that was now holding her up, Paige hurried to class to eagerly plan how she was going to get her girl back.

* * *

"Hi, Emily." She was startled by the sudden intrusion in her otherwise silent moment.

"Paige, hi! I've been looking for you all morning."

"Well, once again, Emily Fields, I was avoiding you." She offered a playful shove to the other girl.

"Right, well I figured that much." Even in the midst of an awkward conversation, Emily couldn't help but flirt with Paige, and she even noticed Paige flirting back. _Wait, what? She's flirting with me… and there are people around!_ As the two girls stood in line waiting for their food, the Emily couldn't hide the grin tugging at the edge of her mouth. They were flirting in public, and, for the brunette, it was a step in the right directions. It would certainly make the whole 'I can be your secret' thing a million times easier.

"Listen, Paige." She leaned in close to the girl. "I know this isn't the place for a full blown discussion, but I need you to know one thing: I was wrong the other day. I can wait."

The redhead smiled at her and led them over to the table occupied by Emily's three other friends

Turning to look at Emily, she countered, "No, Emily, _I_ was wrong. You shouldn't have to wait, and I'm not ashamed of you." She took a step towards the brunette and exhaled slowly. Panic set in as Emily began to comprehend the magnitude of Paige's actions. She felt every pair of eyes around them glaring at the two of them only inches apart. _This is absurd. Paige is skipping all of the baby steps and just going straight for the grand finale._ Emily knew what this meant. It meant that Paige was desperately trying to save herself from losing Emily.

So instead, she turned he head away and whispered, "Wait, Paige—not like this."

"What then?" The girl was beyond frustrated with Emily's contradicting actions. "Do you want me to stand on this table and tell the whole cafeteria how I feel about you? Because I will. I can be ballsy too…"

Before Emily could answer, Paige began searching for a way onto the table. Just as she pulled out a chair and set her foot on it both girls heard a throat clear next to them. Turning towards the sound, Paige recognized a familiar short girl with dark, curly hair. She looked back at the brunette and cringed at the smile on her face.

"Hello Emily."


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you all so much for the reads and reviews. It was pointed out to me that I might have made a few mistakes in the 1st chapter so I hope I cleared some things up with the 2nd part. I'm really happy with how it turned out and I hope you are too.

Thank you Afifrechick for reminding me that Aria is, in fact, quite a literate person. I hope you approve of how I correct myself in the story.

And a super huge thanks goes out to Hellsvictim13 for patiently helping me modify my Maya character. I could not have done it without you. This story is for you.

* * *

"Maya! Hi!" Emily's voice was filled with unadulterated excitement, and it manifested a sickening feeling deep in Paige's stomach.

Aria nudged the girl standing with one foot on the chair next to her, "Paige, it's now or never!"

"I'm sorry Aria, I just—I can't." With one last look at the reconnected pair, the redhead dashed out of the cafeteria. Emily failed to even glance at the clearly upset girl; her eyes were focused on only one person. Maya sashayed up to Emily and pulled her into her arms, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. It was a kiss that Emily was glad Paige had missed.

"Maya, what are you doing back so early?"

The shorter girl grinned flirtatiously and responded, "They let me out early on good behavior." She turned to the other three girls awkwardly watching them and offered a friendly hello. As Emily invited Maya to sit down at the table with them, Aria inconspicuously slipped out into the hallway in search of Paige. Seeing the light on in the bathroom she figured that was a good place start.

Paige was pacing from wall to wall in the bathroom, punching the bricks every time she made a lap.

Without even looking up at Aria she started shouting, "How could I be so stupid? I knew she would come back eventually, and _of course_ Emily is going to pick her. Maya's ballsy—and I'm not. Maya's pretty—and I'm not. Maya's _out_—and I'm—not."

Aria assumed the question was rhetorical and simply watched as the other girl voiced her frustrations.

"Well, aren't you going you going to say _something_?" Paige stopped pacing long enough to direct her question at the shorter girl, but after getting no response, she resumed.

"Paige, stop pacing. You're making me dizzy."

"That's not really what I meant, Montgomery," she tossed over her shoulder on her way by the girl.

"Fine. You want to know what I think?" The harsh tone in her voice was enough to make Paige slow her pace to an eventual stop. "I think the same thing that I thought this morning: if you want to be with her, then you're going to have to fight for her."

"Yeah, but how do I compete with someone like Maya?" Her voice had dropped to level of disappointment that Aria hadn't heard in a very long time.

"What makes you think that Maya is even still in the running for Emily's heart?" Aria remembered the trouble that Emily went through to talk to her girlfriend, only to find herself, for the most part, ignored.

"Maya's gay—and out. Emily wants someone like that. She likes _ballsy women._ I'm not ballsy!" Much to Aria's dismay, Paige had begun to pace again.

"Hey, give Em some credit. I think she may have changed her mind about this whole 'secret relationship' thing."

"Yeah, sure." Paige's pigheaded nature was starting to get to Aria.

"Seriously, please just talk to her about this. Don't write her off just yet. We really care about her, and you make her happy. Plus, secret relationships aren't all that bad…"

"How the hell would you know what it's like to keep a relationship a secret?" Paige spat at the other girl, "Plus, there's no way Emily would chose me over Maya anyway. Let it go, Montgomery. Please, just leave me alone. "

She was beyond angry now. Paige was throwing away the best thing that had ever been given to her and Aria couldn't stand it anymore. "Well excuse me for trying to be a friend." Placing her tiny hand on the door she turned and glared at the girl. "Oh and by the way, I know what 'enigmatic' means, _McCullers_. I was just trying to make you feel better." With that, she shoved open the bathroom door and flew out, leaving a wake of 'pissed-off' behind her.

_Bitch._

* * *

Aria stormed back into the cafeteria and sank into her chair next to Emily. Hanna and Spencer exchanged confused looks, but only Emily Fields was foolish enough to speak up.

"Whoa, Aria. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? _What's wrong?_" She sat up and stared the swimmer in the eyes. "I'll tell you what's wrong. I'm done trying to be nice to people, and I'm really done trying to solve everyone else's problems. You're on your own."

"What's she talking about, Sweetie?" Maya poked her head from around Emily's other side.

"Ugh!" Aria grunted and buried her head in her arms.

"Maya, can we go somewhere and talk—uh, privately?" The brunette finally picked up on Aria's meaning and she instantly felt plagued with guilt. Did she even notice when Paige had fled the room? Standing up, the two girls made their way out into the hallway.

Spencer's words came out in a slow drawl. "So, are you going to tell us what just happened here?" Aria looked up from her arms and shook her head from side to side. Dropping her face back to the table she mumbled, "Girls are stupid."

* * *

Out in the hallway, Emily quietly searched for an empty classroom. This was going to be an interesting conversation and she wanted to prevent any possible interruptions. During the search, Maya attempted to bring their hands, but each time, Emily had managed to pull away. Eventually, they found a vacant room, and the two girls slipped inside.

"So, you couldn't wait to get me alone so you sneaked us in here for a quick make-out session? Emily Fields, you rule breaker!" She slowly began to inch towards the taller girl. Typically Maya's teasing made Emily's heart do all sorts of funny things, but today, it just made her queasy.

"I kissed her." The words stopped Maya dead in her tracks.

"Em, sweetie. What are you talking about?"

"Paige McCullers—I kissed her. Well, she kissed me first, but I didn't pull away. And then we went on a date, and we kissed again."

"Wow, Em. I never really pegged you for the cheating type." She grabbed a desk to steady herself.

"I thought we were broken up, Maya. Well, at least in my heart I did." She paused in an attempt to regain some composure. "I went through a lot to be able call you while you were away. When I finally got a hold of you, you sounded less than thrilled to be talking to me. It broke my heart."

"I was dealing with a lot of stuff out there, you know. I guess I just assumed that you would wait for me. But I guess I was wrong…"

"Maya, you were my first. And that's something that I will always cherish. You taught me how to love myself. We were so good together, but I think—?

"—We're just different people now." Maya finished the thought for her.

"Yeah."

"I understand, Em." She offered a sad smile. "So this Paige girl, you're into her then?"

She was surprised by sudden change in topic. "Maya, you don't have to do that…"

She let out an unmistakable sigh of relief. "Good, because saying that just made me extremely uncomfortable." The two girls exchanged a quick laugh.

"I'm sorry." The swimmer felt her heart break for the other girl

"Yeah, me too." She stepped up to Emily and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Walking backwards she offered one last thing to her now ex-girlfriend. "I want you to be happy Emily. I hope she makes you happy. Never stop fighting for what you deserve." With one last curl of her lips, Maya turned around and left Emily alone in the darkness to reflect on the events that had just transpired.

Her back hit the cold bricks as she slid into a seated position on the floor. Tears flowed freely from her face, but they reflected relief rather than sadness. She grabbed her phone out of the front pocket of her jacket and typed out a quick text.

**Room 107.**

Her face was dry by the time Paige peaked her head into the classroom.

"Emily? Are you ok?" She called into the darkness.

"Yeah, back here." The redhead slowly moved towards the back of the class bumping her knee on every desk along the way. When she reached her destination, Emily was looking up at her with her sad, beautiful eyes.

"I miss you, Paige McCullers." Paige leaned her shoulder against the back wall. It's cool temperature sent shivers through her body

"What about Maya?" Her words were dry and emotionless.

Emily offered a casual smile. "She left."

"Why?" Again, she spoke without emotion.

"My heart belongs to another." Paige took a moment to chew over the phrase and slid down the wall, mirroring Emily's position. Without any effort their hands instantly linked together, and an intimidating silence flooded the room.

Paige let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding and turned her head toward Emily. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see a content smile pasted on the other girl's face.

"I miss you too, Emily Fields." She felt the brunette lean into her, placing her tired head on Paige's shoulder. A silence washed over them again. Paige watched the other girl wet her lips and open her mouth to speak.

"Do you think that maybe we can try to meet somewhere in the middle on this thing?" Emily's voice was exhausted but hopeful.

Paige grinned. "Yeah, I think that could probably work." She leaned over and placed a tender peck on the cheek opposite to where Maya had left one earlier. As she pulled away, Emily turned her face and connected their lips in a soft, but full-mouthed, kiss.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," She sighed. Paige left her eyes closed, relishing the perfection of the moment.

"Well, Emily Fields, feel free to do it again—and again—and again—But don't feel pressured to wait so long in between kisses this time."

"I'll do my best." The return of their playful bantering was refreshing to both girls.

"So, do you think maybe we should go finish our lunch?" asked Paige. "We could even sit together."

"Nah, let's just stay here for a while. I kind of like it."

"Hidden?" Paige pointed the obvious problem in the other girl's plan.

Emily turned and kissed Paige once again. Squeezing her hand she replied, "But together."

_But together._


End file.
